


Deep Sense of Belonging

by watermelonriddles



Category: Good Girls (TV)
Genre: F/M, Injury, Soft Rio (Good Girls), he just has a lot of emotion okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-24
Updated: 2019-04-24
Packaged: 2020-01-31 08:27:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18587518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watermelonriddles/pseuds/watermelonriddles
Summary: After no one hears from Beth, Rio finds himself spiraling and is forced to face a thing or two.





	Deep Sense of Belonging

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place several weeks after 2x07 (disregarding 2x08 onwards).

It’s the sound of his phone buzzing against the nightstand that wakes Rio up. He groans, throwing an arm over his face as the screen lights up and nearly blinds him. With his other hand, he reaches out and grabs it. His eyes narrow as he peeks at the screen and when he sees the name scrawled upon it, he considers not answering but at midnight he’s usually awake so he figures he should. At the very least he can tell her that he’ll swing by in a few hours to discuss whatever the problem this.

“Elizabeth, it’s-”

A voice that is very clearly not Beth’s cuts him off. “Shut up. We need you to come over.”

It takes him a second to register the voice as Annie’s and it doesn’t help that she sounds frantic. He props himself up on his elbow. “Why the hell are you using your sister's phone?”

“We don’t know where she is.”

Normally that wouldn’t concern him too much but the fact that Annie seems to have started crying makes him sit up properly. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, we haven’t seen her.”

“Maybe she’s just out?” But even he doesn’t believe that because he’s already out of bed, the phone wedged between his shoulder and ear as he pulls on a pair of jeans.

“She… She…” Annie’s voice is shaking and she has to take a deep breath. “She had a drop tonight.”

Rio has managed to get his arms through the sleeves of his t-shirt but he goes completely still before he can proceed any further. “When exactly did you see her last?”

“This morning.”

“And I saw her last night,” Ruby says and he realises then that he must be on loudspeaker.

He pulls the phone away for just a second to pull his shirt on properly before slipping into his shoes and snatching up his car keys. “Listen, make sure you’ve called everyone and checked everywhere.”

“We have!”

“Do it again,” he orders. “I’m on my way.”

Rio doesn’t wait to hear their response before he hangs up and goes straight for his car. He sends a text to Carlos as he goes. He’s completely focused and it helps to keep the worry that threatens to spill over him at bay. He can feel it crawling at the corners of his mind, trying to take over everything and he can’t allow for that to happen otherwise he’ll be of no use. _She’s fine_ , he tells himself. 

He has to repeat it to himself a few times on the drive over. He’s not entirely sure what he’ll do if she’s not fine, probably kill anyone who may have laid a finger on her but beyond that he’s clueless. Just the thought of something happening to her makes him feel empty inside. It shakes him. They just work together. She’s nobody. Who gives a shit if something has happened? But even that doesn’t help, his concentration is already starting to slip because _he_ cares. More than he even realised.

When Rio finally gets to her house, Carlos is parked on the street outside. He’s sitting against the hood of the car and he straightens up as Rio parks behind him.

“What’s going on, boss?”

“Might have a situation.”

“Business?” Carlos asks as they head up to the front door.

Rio shrugs. “I don’t know.”

They share a look as they reach the door. Rio can see how much Carlos wants to question further but he remains quiet and just nods a little. Letting himself into the house, he finds Annie and Ruby by the island counter. They’ve got their phones (including Beth’s) on the counter before them along with a piece of paper that seems to have things scribbled down and crossed out on it.

“Ladies.” They both turn to look at him. Although she’s no longer crying, Annie’s eyes and the tip of her nose are red and it looks like she’s only just stopped. Ruby looks to be more in control but it’s not hard to spot the tears threatening to spill over. He approaches the island counter, standing to the side of it and Carlos joins him. “Fill us in.”

Annie and Ruby have turned back to the counter. The former takes a breath to steady herself. “Right, we’ve called everyone we can think of. _Twice_.”

“No one has heard from her or seen her,” Ruby continues.

“Where’d you find her phone?”

“It was here with her bag,” Annie says. “Her car is still here.”

“We’re thinking- _hoping_ she just decided not to take her bag to the drop and forgot her phone in the process _._ ” Ruby glances at Annie. “It was a late drop so she said she would call us.”

Rio’s eyes go straight to Annie. “She seem alright this morning? She mention the drop?” Annie and Ruby share a look and Rio watches as they silently communicate back and forth. “ _Well_?” he snaps. “We’re on a clock here.”

“Well, the drop was for those men,” Ruby says.

“You know,” Annie prompts. “The ones we went back to see?”

He runs a hand over his face and groans. There weren’t too many people they delivered to but the supply was coming in bigger and faster than before meaning that there was very little time to be picky. While Rio had deliberately given Beth drops that kept her away from those particular colleagues, she had stepped up to say how ridiculous it was when none of them were ever around for the drops anyway. It had slipped his mind that tonight was her first one for them again. He curses himself, knowing that he should have sent someone with her. He tries not to think about the fact that she might have had to walk home, tries to remind himself that she’s smart.

“ _Fuck_. Right.” He turns to Carlos. “Get some of the boys. Check her drop location and scour the area between here and there.”

“I checked the drop location,” Ruby says. “I couldn’t see her but I didn’t want to stick around too long because the drop car was still there.”

“If it’s moved, track it,” Rio tells Carlos.

“What do you want us to do if…?”

He doesn’t have to finish the question. “Priority is to find her and get her back here in one piece. I’ll go out and look as well.” Rio’s eyes drift to where he knows Carlos’ gun is tucked into his waistband. “Shoot if you have to.”

Carlos gives a small nod before heading back towards the front door, his phone already out. Rio turns back to Annie and Ruby. _She’s fine_ , he tells himself again.

“My boys will find something.” He’s not entirely sure if it’s for his benefit or his own. It takes him a moment to realise that he’s gripping the edge of the island counter a little too tightly. He loosens his grip and tries to rub away the ache it leaves in his hands. “Let’s go over this, why are you so sure something has happened? Beyond the fact she didn’t call.”

“You’re worried too otherwise you wouldn’t send your boys,” Annie points out but her eyes quickly dart away as he narrows his at her. “Things have been strained here at home. Dean took the kids to his mother’s for the week.”

“She’s not been herself,” Ruby adds. “I think she’s worried that he might leave for good, take the kids with him.”

Rio groans as he runs a hand over his face. His mind is racing and he can feel himself start to spiral. He knows it’s pointless to get in his car and drive around without thinking it through first, no matter how badly he wants to just get out there and look. Instead, he has to focus, concentrate enough so that he can narrow things down from this end and find her quicker.

The panic starts to rise. He can feel it building from his core as his heart rate begins to quicken. On the surface, he keeps trying to tell himself that it’s a misunderstanding and they’ll find her in some bar drowning her sorrows and he’ll yell at her for being reckless but the deeper part of him knows this doesn’t quite sit right. He was sure he handled their colleagues when he went to get the damn blanket back but they’re also not the brightest in the bunch and he wouldn’t put it past them to do something stupid.

And what if they have nothing to do with it? What if it’s something stupid like she got hit by a car or something? _Christ_. He really is spiraling and he has to get up and pace the room a little just to make it subside a little. This isn’t him. He doesn’t usually panic. He doesn’t usually do _this_. He can barely remember the last time he spiraled, it was so long ago. If the drop has anything to do with it, they’ll handle it. If she’s gotten herself into some kind of accident then it’s her own damn fault. Only as soon as he thinks it, he knows he doesn’t believe it.

“Rio?” He stops pacing and looks over to find Annie and Ruby watching him carefully. It’s the former who has spoken. “What are we going to do?”

“You think she would do something stupid?”

“No,” Annie says quickly and Rio gives her a skeptical look. She sighs. “Look, I know the whole blanket situation was really stupid but she wouldn’t.”

“After what happened with Jane,” Ruby says, nodding her head a little in agreement with Annie. “I agree that she would do anything like that again.”

“You got it back for her,” Annie points out. “Do you think they would try anything?”

“They’d be really fucking stupid to,” Rio growls before letting out a slow, deliberate breath. “But who knows. You mentioned her husband took the kids for a bit? Would that make her do something?”

“I don’t know, maybe she went to get a drink,” Ruby sighs. “But she knew we were waiting to hear from her.”

“I can’t just sit here.” He catches the way Annie’s voice strains and she tries to clear her throat to cover it.

“I’m gonna go and look as well,” Rio assures her. “Someone needs to be here if she comes back.”

“We tried everywhere she would go,” Ruby tells him. “My husband is still at home.”

“And my kid is with the babysitter at my place,” Annie says. “They all know to call if they hear from her.”

Rio curses but before he can think of where he’s going to start his search, his phone buzzes. He pulls it from his pocket and hits ‘answer’ as soon as he sees Carlos’ number.

“Anything?”

“Not yet,” Carlos says and Rio can feel his heart sink a little. “The car wasn’t there when we arrived. We tracked it to a house a little bit away. You want us to go inside?”

“Has anyone else found anything?”

“Nah but they’re searching the area closer to this new location,” Carlos tells him.

“Check the house.” Rio turns away from Ruby and Annie and makes sure that his voice is as low and serious as he can get it before he speaks again. “You make them talk. If she’s there, you put a bullet between the eyes of anyone who gets in your way, got it?”

“Got it.”

When he hangs up the phone and turns back, there are expectant eyes on him. He sighs and rolls his phone over and over in his hand.

“Carlos found our colleagues,” Rio explains. “The drop car is there now. He’s gonna go in and get some answers.”

“If she’s there?” Annie questions.

“My boys will get her out.”

Ruby looks between the two of them. “And if she’s _not_ there?”

Rio doesn’t want to think about it. The thought of Beth being in that house with them makes him feel sick to his stomach but at least if she’s there they would have found her. He really needs to get his head straight. Not so long ago he would have gladly walked away from her, wouldn’t have even bothered to glance back in her direction as he did, but now, just the thought of her being out there somewhere, alone, it ripped at every inch of him. Best case scenario is that this is all a misunderstanding, the worst case scenario is she’s dead.

He doesn’t even want to think about the latter. It claws at him. He can already feel his chest constrict and he’s finding it hard to breathe. Never in his life has someone gotten under his skin in the way that Beth does. He can’t do it. He can’t just sit around and wait. He’s on edge. Every part of him feels like a live wire. He has to do something _, anything._

“I’m gonna check some places,” Rio tells them. “I’ll call you from the car.”

They don’t get a chance to respond as he starts to walk out of the room but he barely gets a few steps before his phone pings. He pauses and turns it over in his hand as the screen lights up with a single message: _incoming_.

Without thinking, Rio rushes over to the front door. His frantic movements catch Ruby and Annie’s attention and they quickly follow on behind him. As soon as he’s there, he throws the door open and makes it down the porch steps just as a car parks haphazardly on the street. He recognises it and two of his boys step out. One of them leans into the back and his heart lurches when he catches a glimpse of Beth.

She’s helped out of the car and Rio lets out a breath because she’s standing. Standing is good, standing means she’s alive. His boys are on either side of her as they walk towards the porch but she doesn’t seem to need any help, even if she is moving a little slowly. Rio meets them halfway and as soon as he’s close enough, he takes a hold of her. He’s got an arm wrapped around her waist even though he’s sure she doesn’t need it.

Once they’re by the front door, Annie and Ruby - both of whom have started crying a little out of relief - take hold of Beth and help her inside. As soon as she’s out of his grasp, Rio realises that he never got a chance to fully look her over.

“What happened?” He doesn’t even turn around, he's looking towards the house focusing on the spot where Beth had just been before she disappeared inside.

“We found her about five minutes from the house. She was sitting at the side of the road.”

“What’d they do to her?”

“She wouldn't say. She just seemed pissed off if anything.”

Rio can feel a smile tug at the corners of his mouth. That’s a good sign. “Get the boys back together. We’ll figure out what to do later.”

“Want us to stick around?”

“Send Carlos back here.”

Without another word, he steps back into the house, letting the door swing shut behind him. When he finds the three of them, Beth is sat on the couch near the kitchen with Annie right beside her and Ruby standing behind the couch. Beth’s got a blanket around her shoulders and Rio’s stomach twists as the sight of blood at the back of her head. It seems to be dry and there’s not an awful lot of it but it’s enough to make that previous sense of panic slowly turn to anger.

Rio immediately gravitates towards her and sits down on the coffee table directly in front of her. Her eyes immediately find his and while anger is the first thing he spots, he can tell there’s more going on. She looks pale, more so than usual. Her hands are shaking and when he reaches out for them, he realises that she’s ice cold. He takes both of her hands between his own and begins to rub them, trying his best to slowly warm them up.

“What’d they want?”

She looks down at their hands, watching the way his move over hers. “I guess after last time they thought they could wriggle a better deal out of me.”

“Elizabeth.” At the sound of her name, Beth’s eyes drift back up to his. “I need to know everything.”

“I left here just before eleven,” she says quietly. “They were waiting when I arrived but I knew turning away would definitely cause trouble.”

“You were found on the side of the road near to their house,” Rio says. “How’d that happen?”

“I woke up there.” She shifts a little and Rio realises then that although he’s stopped rubbing her hands, he’s still holding them. He thinks about pulling away but just the thought of breaking contact makes his stomach turn. Luckily she keeps talking. “I wouldn’t budge on the deal and I guess one of them hit me from behind.”

His eyes search her face. “How’d you feel when you woke up?”

“Bit of a headache and some blood but I’m fine.” She tries to look determined. “What’s gonna happened now?”

Although she sounds alright, Rio has already decided he’s not going to take any risks. He immediately stands up and looks down at her. “We’re going to the hospital.”

It’s Annie who speaks. “ _You_ are suggesting the hospital?”

“She might have a concussion.”

“I _don’t_ ,” Beth protests.

“We’re going.”

“ _No_.”

Maybe it’s the fact that he’s spiraled more tonight than he has in a long time or maybe it’s the fact that he needs to keep himself busy so he doesn’t go off half-cocked to kill the bastards who did this but regardless, it doesn't matter because Rio’s not here to argue with her. His decision is final.

“Listen, sweetheart, you’re gonna get in my car and we’re gonna go to the hospital,” he warns her. “I’ll drag your ass there kicking and screaming if I have to.”

“He’s right,” Ruby says, placing a gentle hand on Beth’s shoulder. “You need to get checked out.”

Beth narrows her eyes at Rio. “And what do I tell them?”

He shrugs a little. “Any bullshit excuse you want. We’re going.”

With a sigh, she relents and holds her hand out. He takes hold of it and helps her to stand up. She does seem a little better now but until he knows for sure, he won’t be able to let it go.

* * *

The hospital took up more time than expected. Rio didn’t care though. He simply stood by his decision until Beth was officially guided away to be checked out and have some tests done. While she was gone, he spent most of the time pacing. Annie and Ruby had been sat side by side, the former leaning on the other, while Carlos stood nearby, talking quietly on his phone as he tried to sort things out.

There are very few things in this world that make Rio lose any or all composure and Beth is definitely one of those things. As they waited, his heart started to beat erratically again and he got the overwhelming urge to punch something. It all finally sunk in. The blood on the back of her head and those bastards thinking they could get one over. He had slowly begun to see red so he distracted himself.

Carlos filled him on what happened at the house. Their colleagues had been so worked up and on edge that they were easy enough to overpower. It was hard to tell if it was a coincidence that they showed up early to collect their car but it was looking more likely as a thing of opportunity. His boys had beaten them pretty bad, let off a couple of shots even, and it wasn’t long before they threw one of their own under the bus. “ _Apparently they didn’t plan to hurt her,”_ Carlos had said. _“Heat of the moment. Didn’t like the way she talked down to them and acted like she was some kind of boss.”_ They knew they had fucked up and intentional or not, Rio had decided the moment he heard she was missing that he was going to kill them.

He ordered Carlos and the others to keep an eye on their colleagues and to be ready in case he needed them. His first priority was making sure that she was okay. And she was. There was a very mild concussion that she would need to keep an eye on (Annie and Ruby both instantly decided to stay with her) but her head wound wasn’t major. She made sure to look Rio right in the eye when she said:  _“they can bleed a lot apparently.”_ He could feel her irritation but he didn’t care.

The whole drive back they sit in silence. No one tells him to leave so Rio follows them inside when they arrive. Ruby and Annie go straight to the kitchen to make some food and drinks but Rio’s eyes follow Beth as she heads straight to her bedroom. He leaves it a few moments before he follows on behind her but even then, as he approaches her bedroom door, he hesitates. He can hear her rustling around inside and in one swift movement, because he knows he’s going to check on her at some point, he knocks on the door and enters before she can say anything.

“What the hell-” His eyes are closed and she must finally see that because she goes quiet. “Just… Wait there. Don’t move.”

Rio does as he’s told. Stands completely still except to shut her door behind him. His eyes remain closed the entire time and after a few moments, she tells him it’s okay to open them.

When he does, Beth is sat on the edge of her bed, facing away from him. He slowly walks across the room and only stops when he’s stood right in front of her. She looks up at him, her head tilted to the side a little. Any anger or irritation is gone and she just looks tired. He drops down so he’s kneeling in front of her and she no longer has to look up at him.

“I spoke to Carlos at the hospital.”  
  
“What’d he say?”

“We’re gonna check a few things,” Rio tells her. “But apparently it wasn’t intentional.”

“Sure felt intentional,” she mumbles.

“Well, they didn’t plan it.” His hand rests on her knee. “Apparently you spoke down on them. Acted like some kind of boss.”

“I didn’t speak down on anyone,” she snaps. “And I might as well be their boss. Without us, they wouldn’t have any product. They need us more than we need them.” His thumb begins to draw lazy circles against her leg. Her eyes drift down and as she watches the movement she begins to take a deep breath. “I wasn’t talking down. I was civil despite the fact they’re creeps.”

“It was just the head injury, right?”

She places her hand over his and Rio realises that he’s absent-mindedly dug his fingers into her skin as anger creeps up inside of him again. He gives her an apologetic look and withdraws his hand.

“Just some small bruises where I hit the ground.”

“Good.” This time Rio puts both of his hands on her legs because the urge is too much and he just has to be close to her. A shiver runs through him as she places her hands over his.

“What happens now?” she asks.

Rio’s tongue runs out across his bottom lip as he considers the question. “You really want to know?”

“You’re going to kill them.” She’s impossible to read. Her expression is blank and voice is surprisingly neutral.

“How do you feel about that?” he asks her and it surprises him how soft his voice is.

“You’re not thinking straight,” she decides.

“I’m not going to go in all guns blazing if that’s what you’re picturing.” She smiles a little at that and it makes his heart soar. “But, even if it’s just the idiot who hit you, someone is paying for this.”

Beth gives him a look as if she understands. “You need to set an example.”

Rio frowns at that. Her words sit on him, applying pressure in a way that forces him to really think it over. She’s not wrong. He _does_ have to set an example but it’s more than that. Tonight he could have lost her. Cutting ties and walking away is one thing. If he did that he would at least have the knowledge that she was out there in the world living her life and maybe he could grow to forget her, to move on. But if she died? He’s sure that would rip a part of him clean out. 

He slips his hands out from beneath hers before gently taking one of her hands in both of his. He begins to trace soft circles across the back of it and over her knuckles with his thumb, watching as he does so. He can feel Beth’s eyes on him but he can’t look at her, not yet. It’s too overwhelming. It’s not that he’s never felt this way before. He’s got people he cares about. A lot of them would spark the anger and the worry and the panic that had settled deep in his core and they have. Although it’s been a long time since he spiraled like he had tonight, it’s not the feelings that surprise him, it’s the fact that it’s Beth that’s bringing them out.

It was all just some harmless fun. Some flirting, sex in a bar bathroom. Lust if anything. It was all straight forward and simple. As he watches their hands Rio begins to wonder when it had all started to become so complicated. He’s not sure he could pinpoint an exact time because his heart flutters at the memory of every moment, even the bad ones, and it forces him to second guess everything he had ever thought about their relationship before tonight.

Suddenly, Beth’s hand slips away from his and he forces himself to finally look at her. As he does, one of her hands comes up to cup his face. He leans instinctively into her touch. Her lips are parted slightly and she’s looking at him like she’s trying to figure him out.

“Rio?”

Her voice is small and soft and it makes Rio melt a little. He places a hand over Beth’s, his fingers slipping beneath hers as he pulls her hand away from his face so he can lean in closer. Her legs part just enough so he can get as close as possible and he gently presses a kiss to the corner of her mouth.

Beth’s eyes drift shut as he hovers near to her, eyes searching her face. “Rio?” she asks again and this time he kisses her cheek in response.

“I need you.” At that, she looks at him again and blinks a few times in surprise, not that he can really blame her. Twice he has told Beth that he didn’t need her and both times, in the moment, he had meant it but oh, how wrong he had been. Rio straightens up just enough so he can look her in the eye. His hands are on the bed, either side of her and they’re so close to one another that he can feel her breath ghosting against his skin. “And I sure as hell can’t lose you.”

She lets out a shaky breath, her hands resting on his shoulders. “You’re really going to do it?”

“I’ve got to," he says with all of the determination he can feel inside of himself.

Rio can see it finally hit her. The fact that handling this is about business but it’s also about her. And it’s not just that. The weight of the entire night seems to hit her as well because suddenly she’s crying. His arms wrap tightly around her as Beth leans in to press her forehead against his.

“I…” She tries to breathe. “I…”

“It’s okay,” he tells her.

“Please don’t go yet,” she begs as one hand slips along his shoulder until he can feel her fingers against the back of his neck.

Rio’s not sure how much he can promise so he pulls away to look at her. He loosens his grip so he can gently cup her face, his thumbs swiping over fresh tears as they start to fall. Beth takes a deep breath and then another and then another, willing herself to stop crying. When it finally seems to work her eyes find his and his heart does a little somersault. Slowly, so she can tell him no or pull away at any point, Rio leans in and he gently presses a soft kiss to her lips. She kisses him back, equally as soft, a little tentative even.

When he draws back so he can see her face again, Beth instinctively leans further into his touch and Rio knows, even right down in the deepest parts of himself, that he belongs to her now. 

**Author's Note:**

> Listen, I have no idea, folks. I apologise for any glaringly obvious mistakes, my mind is absolutely racing right now, but I hope y'all enjoyed anyway.
> 
> Also, in case you were doubting, he 100% went and handled their colleagues.


End file.
